Integrated production company Tool of North America has announced a strategic expansion of its digital leadership team and reorganization of the division. Under Dustin Callif, managing partner, digital, and Oliver Fuselier, managing partner, live action, the company has made several senior level promotions from within, as well as a new hire, to strengthen and support its growing digital, integrated, experiential and VR offerings.
Tool has promoted Chris Neff from executive producer, digital, to director of digital & integrated/EP; Adam Baskin from sr. digital producer to EP, digital; and Sarah DiLeo from integrated producer to EP, integrated. Tool has also hired Jennifer Baker as EP, experiential.
Neff, who executive produced recent Tool projects spanning VR, experiential and digital for brands like Infiniti, IBM and Domino’s, has been elevated to take a more senior leadership role across digital, experiential and VR. Baskin, who produced “A World of Belonging,” a data visualization project for Airbnb, will executive produce digital projects ranging from websites to mobile apps and continue playing a key role in Tool’s relationship with Airbnb and Twitter. DiLeo will lead the live action approach to integrated projects, having recently led the “Come Seek Live” project, a groundbreaking real-time storytelling campaign for Royal Caribbean using Periscope to live-stream island adventures on social platforms and live billboards throughout New York City. Baker will oversee the day to day business and long-term growth of Tool’s experiential department. Baker brings over 20 years of experiential experience, having served as lead producer and Executive Producer on projects with clients like Swarovski, Nestle, Acer, Nintendo, AT&T and Pepsi. Tool’s VR department will be led by Julia Sourikoff, who was recently hired as Head of VR & 360 from the Future of Storytelling, where she worked with brands like American Express, GE, Google, Microsoft and Time Warner.
“The demand for more interesting and entertaining storytelling in advertising has never been higher, and we’re constantly innovating our business and offerings to deliver culturally-relevant content,” said Callif. “As our digital and integrated, experiential and VR offerings continue to expand, we’ve made a strategic decision to appoint leaders of each division to work together to help accelerate our growth.”
“We’re dedicated to finding the right combination of creativity, talent and the use of emerging technology with the singular mission to tell great stories that resonate with people,” said Fuselier. “With this team in place alongside our world class roster of live action and interactive directors and artists, we’ve found the ideal structure that will allow us take on the most challenging and innovative new projects.”
The expansion comes on the heels of Fuselier’s promotion to managing partner, live action from managing director, live action, and follows several recent high profile VR projects from Tool and its best-in-class roster of directors and digital artists. In August 2015, Tool produced Infiniti’s “Driver’s Seat” campaign from CP+B, two distinct virtual reality experiences. In December 2015, to kick off Tool’s new digital studio in France, interactive director Aramique launched a VR exhibition in Paris’s Palais de Tokyo called “The Eight Phases of Enlightenment.” In March 2016, Tool’s John X. Carey directed the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s VR campaign from Wieden+Kennedy Portland, “Together We Are Stronger,” aimed at bringing people together to overcome the challenges of MS. And most recently, in April 2016, Tool’s Marc Forster directed “Eyes on Gigi,” BMW’s interactive global campaign with 360 video from KBS / Serviceplan to launch the new BMW M2 Coupé; it was just named the most viewed 360 video on Youtube.
Tool was recently awarded the Palme D’Or, the highest production honor of the 2016 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
Director Paul Feig’s “Another Simple Favor,” With Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, To Open SXSW
"Another Simple Favor," Paul Feig's sequel to his 2018 noir comedy starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, will open the SXSW Film and TV Festival.
Organizers of the Austin, Texas, festival announced Tuesday that the long-awaited "A Simple Flavor" sequel will kick of this year's edition on March 7. The Amazon MGM release plots another twist-filled round of murder and betrayal, with Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) heading to an Italy wedding on Capri.
"When we saw this film last fall, we instantly knew it had to open SXSW — it gave us that electric feeling we live for as programmers," said Claudette Godfrey, festival vice president, in a statement.
SXSW has hosted Feig's films before, including a work-in-progress screening of "Bridesmaids" in 2011 and the premiere of "Spy" in 2015.
The premiere of "Another Simple Favor" will be Lively's first new movie since last year's "It Ends With Us" and the subsequent legal drama involving Lively and that film's director and co-star, Justin Baldoni.
In late December, Lively sued Baldoni, his production company and others for sexual harassment and attacks on her reputation and sought unspecified damages. Baldoni sued last month, accusing Lively and her husband, "Deadpool" actor Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion and seeking at least $400 million in damages.
A trial date of March 2026 has been set.
SXSW previously announced another opening night premiere: the upcoming Seth Rogen Hollywood comedy series "The Studio." The film festival, now in its 32nd year, runs March 7-14.
Read More